A collaborative agreement between the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) and US space transportation company Firefly Aerospace will see the launch of Firefly’s Alpha rocket carrying satellites into orbit from the newly inaugurated spaceport at Esrange Space Center in Sweden. The flights are expected to launch in 2026.
Owned and operated by SSC, Esrange has been operational since 1966. While it has primarily supported sounding rocket launches for microgravity and atmospheric research, newly expanded infrastructure at the spaceport is now able to support satellite launches, making it suitable for demands for orbital launch capabilities in Europe.
“Reducing the current gap of orbital launch sites in Europe, this collaboration strengthens the transatlantic link between Sweden and the US whilst offering unique space capabilities for the Swedish NATO membership,” said Charlotta Sund, CEO at SSC. “We’re looking forward to releasing this competitive and well-proven launch service at Esrange in northern Europe.”
Pad modifications are already underway at Esrange’s Launch Complex 3 from which Firefly’s Alpha rocket will launch. Noting that Firefly is humbled to become the first US company to launch from continental Europe, Bill Weber, CEO at Firefly Aerospace said: “The future of spaceflight requires more orbital launch sites across the globe as we continue to see growing demand among domestic and international launch customers.
The new launch service at Esrange will build on the success of Firefly’s orbital Alpha missions from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and supplement Firefly’s new launch capability at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virgina.
